ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Friday India would have to reverse its illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019 on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJ&K) and create an enabling environment for meaningful engagement and result-oriented dialogue with Pakistan.
Speaking at the 50th Foundation Day of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) here, he said currently Pakistan’s relationship with India was marked by an atmosphere of mistrust, primarily due to India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019. Pakistan is committed to having cooperative and good-neighbourly relations with India, on the basis of mutual respect and sovereign equalities and to move forward, but India would have to address the obstacles that hinder peaceful coexistence. It would have to reverse its illegal measures in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and create an enabling environment for meaningful engagement and result-oriented dialogue.
He said Pakistan remains committed to a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution and the wishes of the Kashmiri people, if this dispute is resolved in a just and fair manner, not only durable peace will be established in South Asia but also the peace dividends would contribute to the well-being and prosperity of the one fifth of humanity residing in our region.
Bilawal said when the government assumed office in April 2022, it faced serious challenges on the diplomatic front. Despite that, we diligently pursued a foreign policy aimed at addressing our national challenges, opening doors for our people, improving access of our goods and services, preserving sovereign decision-making at multilateral fora and promoting multilateralism and international law while amplifying Pakistan’s viewpoint at the regional and global level.
He said that addressing our domestic issues required quick rebuilding of ties and restoring trust with key capitals and reinvigorating substantive engagement with our traditional partners, Pakistan is committed to forging good relations with all major powers beyond the U.S. and China, this includes Russia, Europe and Japan as well as ASEAN and the Republic of Korea.
He said that we reinforced and deepened our traditional partnerships with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Iran, and Qatar and we see a positive trend in Pakistan-Africa bilateral linkages in terms of trade, political, parliamentary, and military and security cooperation.
Bilawal Bhutto said Pakistan has clearly voiced its opposition to any bloc politics or relapse into the cold war, forging military alliances and assigning the role of ‘net security provider’ to some countries at the expense of others is fraught with grave consequences.
He said that the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between Pakistan and China has been enduring and mutually-beneficial over several decades, China remains a steadfast and reliable partner, and our bilateral ties continue to strengthen across myriad fields.
He said Pakistan is fully committed to ensuring the success of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the China Pakistan Economic Corridor’s extension to Afghanistan and further West would help significantly advance our agenda of connectivity and economic integration.
Bilawal said as a friend of both Russia and Ukraine, we hope that there will be move towards peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict through dialogue and diplomacy and we earnestly hope the current drift would be reversed and a beginning would be made towards addressing mutual concerns and building sustainable peace in Europe again.
The foreign minister said in the light of the recent political developments in Afghanistan, the international community must maintain a pragmatic approach and constructive engagement. Abandoning Afghanistan or its 40 million people during this critical phase could lead to unimaginable consequences.
Simultaneously, Pakistan hopes that the Taliban authorities would be responsive to the expectations of the international community, the Afghan Interim Government must ensure inclusivity, respect for human rights of all Afghans, and effective counter-terrorism action.
The event was attended by Ambassador Khalid Mahmood, Chairman of the BoG, ISSI, Ambassador Sohail Mahmood, Director General of ISSI.
Separately, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also spoke at the re-launch of PPP’s Human Rights Cell, here on Friday. He said the cause of human rights was one that was bipartisan and had no link to a person’s political, provincial or linguistic identity. “If we wish to preserve the cause, we need to bring the discussion to a grassroots level, instead of taking place solely on social media platforms,” he added.
Bilawal said the PPP prides itself on its legacy and history when it comes to human rights, especially during Benazir Bhutto’s tenure when human rights had become a basic philosophy for the party. He hoped that the PPP Human Rights Cell, headed by Farhatullah Babar, would play a proactive role in resolving the rights issues of people belonging to all segments of society.
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